Organ donation reveals couple to be perfect match

Newton woman gives kidney to ailing husband

Joanne and Craig Burton have been married for more than three decades, but it was only in the last year that they discovered they were a life-saving perfect match.

Craig Burton still gets emotional when he tells the story. In 2012, he learned that he needed a new kidney. He never imagined that the perfect donor was the woman he had been married to for 31 years.

"She's my hero," he said. "She saved my life. She gave me quality of life. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Craig Burton has had Type I diabetes since he was young. Recently, his kidneys started failing, and on Feb. 1, 2012, doctors gave him crushing news. He needed dialysis.

An appointment at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in May offered a flicker of hope.

"We expected if we could get his donor worked up that we could potentially avoid dialysis," said Dr. Kristen Raven.

Joanne Burton said she immediately wanted to be tested.

"And right then, while we were there, I said, 'Well, let's just check me, and I'll donate mine,'" she said.

She said she made the decision in March on their wedding anniversary that she would be a living donor. But she never thought her husband would actually get her kidney. Instead, she thought she would be part of a pairing program, donating her kidney to someone else in need, and her husband would get someone else's in exchange.

But it never got that far, because the Burtons learned they were a match.

"They took the blood samples, and two days later, they called and said we were a match and that he could have my kidney," Joanne Burton said.

Doctors said spousal matches are more common than people think. Technically, a perfect match is a sibling who shares the same genes as a recipient, but doctors said a husband-wife transplant team is tough to top.

"The donors who are married to a potential recipient are motivated," said Dr. Amy Evenson. "They want their loved one to not have to suffer through dialysis and get back to a normal life."

July 31, 2012, was the big day. The surgeries happened almost simultaneously, and a surgical team was assigned to each of them. At 6:30 a.m., they were wheeled to adjacent rooms.

The last thing they said to each other before being put under anesthesia was, "I love you."

Within two days, Craig Burton had almost full kidney function. Both were home recuperating within a few days. Joanne Burton said that at first she felt a bit of emptiness where her kidney used to be, but now, she can just look over at her beloved and see it.

"When I look at him, I can see it," she said. "They put it in his stomach, and I can actually see the little bit of a bulge, and every once in a while I'll look and, 'Oh my goodness! That's my kidney.'"

It turns out doctors don't always put the donated kidney where you might think. Craig Burton actually has three kidneys now. To avoid complications, the old one wasn't removed.

The Burtons are now on a mission to spread the word about organ donation and live organ donation. Joanne Burton said she never felt pressured at all and was offered the opportunity to back out during every stage of the process.

"Live donation is not for everybody, but people who are considering it or have a loved one who needs it, I just want them to know that it can happen and you can come out of it feeling just great," she said. "And you have a wonderful sense of giving life."

"I couldn't live without her," her husband said.

Thankfully, Joanne Burton's insurance from work covered the cost of surgery. She said hidden costs, like travel to the hospital and hotels and even kennel care for the dog, do add up, though.

But she said, the non-profit helphopelive.org manages donations from fundraisers and helps out patients in need.

Joannae said the trick is that you have to sign up before the surgery happens.

Copyright 2013 by WMUR.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.